Boyd faces sentencing for blackmail

A woman is being sent to the High Court for sentence on 106 charges - including blackmail - committed in Invercargill.

Forty-six-year-old Diane Louise Boyd will remain in custody for the sentencing now provisionally set for March 20 in the High Court in Christchurch.

She was meant to be sentenced in Christchurch District Court today by Judge Jane Farish, who remanded her when she pleaded guilty in October.

However, Judge Farish said she did not notice that the long list of charges included a blackmail offence which can only be dealt with by the High Court.

Boyd admitted 25 charges of obtaining by deception, one of attempting to obtain by deception, five of causing loss by deception, 67 of dishonestly using a document, two of theft by a person in a special relationship, four of theft, and one of blackmail.

She admitted one further charge of obtaining telecommunication services by deception today.

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The offending started in 2010 and continued during 2011. It included obtaining furniture, electronic goods, clothing, games, a large amount of cash, and two cars, by deception. She also used bank, finance, and fuel cards dishonestly to obtain goods.

She threatened a man with disclosure of nude photographs to make him hand over money and property.

Judge Farish noted there had now been agreement that all the sentencings should take place at the same time rather than have some dealt with in the District Court and some in the High Court.

She remanded Boyd to the High Court for a pre-sentence report, victim impact reports, and a psychological report on all the charges.

She said Boyd might be concerned that the delay meant there was a long time to wait before sentence.

"Any sentence you might receive starts as of the date you are remanded in custody. You are effectively serving the sentence while you are waiting for the actual sentence," Judge Farish explained.